Anesthesia and my child

Would you have your own child receive anesthesia?

Yes, definitely, assuming that my child requires it. If one of my children needed to receive a procedure and were unable to cooperate while awake, I would not hesitate to have him or her receive anesthesia so that the procedure could be performed safely, smoothly, and efficiently.

What I certainly would not do is to burden my child’s dentist with repeated and fruitless visits in an unrealistic attempt to have my child avoid dental anesthesia. Going to the dentist–let alone receiving a dental procedure–is an understandably frightening experience for most children. Even many adults are unable to smoothly endure a visit to the dentist. Expecting a small child to accomplish what even many successful adults fear may be unrealistic.

Having said the above, I understand why many parents hold out hope that their child will be able to cooperate with the dentist. At home, the parent may coach the child and explain that cooperating with the dentist is doable. The child may happily voice agreement (at home). The parent(s) and child then return to the dental clinic only for the encounter to be a fruitless use of time (again) since talking at home about going to the dentist and actually being there are two different matters entirely.

In my observation, by far the most qualified individual to perceive and determine whether your child requires dental anesthesia is your child’s dentist. In the course of specialty training to become a pediatric dentist and since that time, he/she has taken care of literally thousands of pediatric patients and has developed a reliable ability to sense which patients will require anesthesia to successfully get through a dental procedure. Once your child’s dentist even politely mentions for the first time the option of dental anesthesia, I personally recommend quickly heeding that professional opinion rather than wasting your time (and many other people’s time), risking your child’s health and wellbeing, and allowing your child’s dental pathology to become worse. Unaddressed dental problems in children often become emergency situations, and dealing with an emergency is always less preferable (and at times less safe) than dealing with a stable situation.